Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
I turned off the phone and opened my bedroom door.
“Hey, babe …”
I froze, taking in the sight of Em kneeling in the center of my bed, staring at me with tearstained eyes. Her hand trembled as she held up my phone. Fuck. Something was very, very wrong.
“I wanted to surprise you,” she said softly. “Put that new picture with my contact info, so you’d see it whenever I call. I went to grab the one you just took.”
Oh, double fuck. I knew exactly where this was going.
“Em—”
“Don’t you fucking talk to me!” she screamed suddenly, throwing the phone across the room at me like a missile. I ducked and it hit the wall, faceplate shattering.
Okay. She’d found the pictures I was supposed to erase. Time for damage control.
“Let me explain.”
“I. Said. Don’t. Talk. To. Me.” she said, her voice like ice. That was when it hit me. I’d screwed up bad. Real bad. “You know, I wasn’t even trying to snoop. You took that picture less than five minutes ago, your goddamned phone was still turned on when you dropped it. It was in a fucking album with my name on it. Christ, Hunter. Do you ever tell the truth? You promised me you’d delete those photos. You promised me. I shouldn’t be afraid to look at something that has my fucking name written on it!”
Her voice had been rising steadily through the whole little speech, and I winced by the end because she’d gotten so shrill it actually hurt my ears. To my horror, Em climbed out of the bed and started grabbing things, stuffing them into her backpack.
“I suppose it’s too much to ask whether you shared them with the other guys?” she muttered. “Let me guess, did you give them to the whole club, or just the guys here at the house? I know how much you all enjoy your porn. I suppose I should feel honored you felt I could compete.”
“Nobody has ever seen those but me,” I told her, holding up my hands defensively. Shit. I’d had girls mad at me before, but I’d never really cared. Jesus—no wonder women hated me, if I made them feel this way. “I swear to you, Em. I kept them for myself …”
“Like that makes it better?”
She leaned over and grabbed my phone off the floor, stuffing it into her pocket. Then she swung her backpack over her shoulder and came to stand in front of me, arms crossed over her chest protectively.
Em wouldn’t even look me in the eye. Nope, she just stared at my chest coldly.
“Move out of my way,” she said. “I’m leaving. I can’t stand to be around your lying ass right now.”
“We need to talk—”
She held up a hand.
“You will move out of the way,” she said, every word slow and distinct.
“This isn’t over,” I said carefully. “You go and calm down. Then we’ll talk.”
“I can’t think about that right now,” she muttered, pushing through the door. She started toward the stairs, then turned back to look at me. “You’ve lied to me all along. Makes me wonder … What else have you been lying to me about?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing,” I said quietly. Em shrugged.
“I don’t believe you.”
EM
Deke’s bike was parked outside Cookie’s house when I pulled up in the darkness.
Just what I needed.
I punched in the code and crept inside, not wanting to wake her up. It wasn’t that late—only eleven—but she went to bed early because her shop opened at five every morning.
Knowing my luck, Deke would still be up.
I stepped inside, closing the door carefully. No sign of Deke in the living room. He must be sleeping in Silvie’s room. Lucky me. I started down the hallway, but halfway down, Silvie’s door opened, and Cookie stepped out. She froze with a guilty, deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.
“I had a fight with Hunter,” I said quickly. “I don’t want Deke or anyone else to know about it.”
Cookie nodded, then glanced back at Silvie’s door.
“Let’s just say tonight’s a don’t-ask, don’t-tell situation?”
“It’s all about plausible deniability,” I answered, desperate to get away and pretend I hadn’t seen anything. She nodded, then darted down the hall to her own room. I followed her lead, closing my door and locking it behind me. Deke? Ugh. I pulled off my clothes and climbed into bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind spinning. It felt like everything was going horribly wrong.
Hunter had lied to me, keeping my pictures.
Cookie and Deke were … doing things I didn’t want to think about.
At least Kit and Dad were still fighting. Not everyone in the world had lost their minds. It would be good to see them tomorrow. I’d leave Portland around ten, and enjoy the holidays Hunter-free. It would give me time to think and decide what I should do about the situation.